Since 1980, EPA has developed and managed a system of federal,
state, and local responders that fields 12 reports of hazardous
substances releases each day from all over the country. The Superfund Emergency Response Program has made many phenomenal accomplishments in the course of responding to a multitude of diverse threats:
- More than 49 million people around the
country were protected from the health hazards stemming from
hazardous substance releases.
- Over 200,000 people, about the population
of a city the size of Hartford, Connecticut, were provided with a
safe supply of drinking water (either bottled water
or hook-up to safe local water systems) when their
drinking water became contaminated.
- Over 40,000 people were moved from the vicinity of very
dangerous sites and given temporary housing.
Most of these people were able to return home as
soon as the EPA made the site safe, but when
necessary, the emergency response program
permanently relocated people.
- Massive amounts of hazardous
wastes were contained or treated to make sites safe:
-
Over 10 million cubic yards of contaminated
soil and debris, enough to cover almost
6,300 acres of land a foot deep.
-
1,569 million gallons of contaminated
liquids, over 110 gallons for every person in
Texas.
-
288 million gallons of polluted water, more
than three times the daily water use in
Vermont.
Profiles of real emergency responses
highlight the most important achievements of the Superfund Emergency
Response program: the elimination of threats from hazardous
substances in local communities.
|